With new organizers and perfect weather, Northbrook Art in the Park welcomed visitors over the weekend to Village Green Park in downtown Northbrook.
This year’s event was put on by Amdur Productions of Highland Park, an area fine arts festival company that produces many other shows in the suburbs.
“This is a first year for us with the show,” said Amy Amdur, president of Amdur Productions. “I am so excited to be here in the park. The trees just lend this beautiful sense of grace to the festival. It’s a very calm setting, very restorative setting and we need that so much right now.”
COVID-19 safety protocols changed the Friday before the show opened, Amdur said, noting the Northbrook Park District indicated that attendees had to wear masks at the park if they were not vaccinated.
“So we changed our signage, a lot changed,” Amdur said Sunday morning. “From the time that we started planning this festival until now, we’ve come a long way.”
An online ticket service was used to encourage people to reserve arrival times.
“We had about 3,000 reservations over the two days,” Amdur said. “There were some walk ups and we estimate about half of those who made reservations showed up.”
Attendance was monitored to make sure the area did not become too crowded.
“People were respectful, followed the suggested walk direction and loved the ‘normal’ the fest provided,” Amdur said.
There have previously been art fairs held at the Village Green that were put on by volunteer artists and community members with the support of the village of Northbrook, Northbrook Arts Commission, Northbrook Park District and local sponsors.
On Sunday morning, Amdur greeted Julia Miller and Marilyn Jamora, both Northbrook artists and volunteers at past Village Green Park art shows.
Miller, a photographer, is a former chairman of the Northbrook Arts Commission. Jamora, a watercolor commissioned portrait artist and previous art teacher, was a commission member.
“To me, on this gray day, I’m loving all of the color,” Miller said. “The color is really striking me today.”
Jamora said, “I know that everybody’s been anxious to get out and do things, so it really is a breath of fresh air to be able to do something.”
There were 85 artists from across the country exhibiting at the free to attend festival.
“I was looking to bring in a lot of different types of art at different price points so that no matter who you were, you’d be able to come here and find something,” Amdur said.
Fine artist Brian Willard of Rogers Park, who is originally from Lake Bluff, described how COVID-19 influenced his original works, “Turn Away” and “En Pointe,” both created in graphite pencil and acrylic paint.
“I was looking at things that I missed, little figments of memory, little things that remind me of physical contact with others, and I think that’s what we’re missing these days and people are craving it, whether it’s literal or not,” Willard said of the pandemic. “People are wanting to interact with other people.”
Artist Joan M. Marhula of Naples, Florida, said she was happy to be back for her first show of the season.
“People are wonderful, great energy,” Marhula said. “We’re going to beat COVID.”
Karie Angell Luc is a freelance reporter.
